All Aboard the CMS Train Station!
Step into the CMS Train Station, where imagination meets one of the Shoals’ most remarkable stories. This interactive exhibit invites children and families to climb aboard, explore, and discover how trains transformed our region and connected the Shoals to the nation.
The story of railroads in the Shoals began nearly two centuries ago. In 1832, the Tuscumbia Railway became the first railroad built west of the Allegheny Mountains, created to move people and goods around the dangerous Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee River. What started as a short railway forever changed transportation in America and placed the Shoals at the forefront of railroad history.
As the region grew, the Memphis & Charleston Railroad became one of the South’s most important rail lines, linking the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Coast. Florence, Tuscumbia, and the surrounding communities became thriving transportation hubs where cotton, timber, manufactured goods, and passengers traveled across the country. During the Civil War, the railroad served as a critical transportation corridor, making the Shoals a strategically important location in American history.
Today, the CMS Train Station celebrates this extraordinary legacy through hands-on play and discovery. Young engineers can operate trains, navigate the rail yard, load cargo, and imagine life as conductors, engineers, and station masters.
As children play, they develop problem-solving skills, spatial awareness, creativity, and an appreciation for the innovation that helped shape our community. The CMS Train Station is more than an exhibit—it’s a journey through time that honors the pioneering spirit of the Shoals while inspiring the next generation of explorers, builders, and dreamers.
All aboard! Adventure, history, and imagination are waiting at the Children’s Museum of the Shoals.